Chatsworth High Shortstop Won’t Face Rape Charges, San Diego D.A. Says

The San Diego County district attorney said Friday there is insufficient evidence to file sexual assault charges against baseball player Matt Fisher of Chatsworth High School.

The announcement ended an investigation that began Sunday, when a woman accused Fisher of sexually assaulting her after a fraternity party. Fisher was in San Diego for a recruiting trip to San Diego State.

“From the day this happened, I believed in my son’s innocence and never wavered one minute, and neither did Matt,” said Jack Fisher, Matt’s father.

Police said a 20-year-old female student alleged that Fisher, 18, entered her room early Sunday and sexually assaulted her as she slept. The woman lives with several members of the Aztecs baseball team. Fisher had been taken to the residence after attending a fraternity party Saturday evening.

Fisher was later arrested at the motel where he was staying.

Kathleen Lewis, a deputy district attorney, said independent witnesses corroborated Fisher’s account--that there was no attack--and contradicted the female student’s story.

Fisher’s father criticized San Diego State officials, saying his son should not have been taken to parties where alcohol was being served.

“This is a lesson to all college recruits and people interested in going to college to be careful, because you never know what can happen on a recruiting trip,” he said.

Matt Fisher, a senior All-City shortstop, helped Chatsworth win the city championship last season. He also played on the famed “Earthquake Kids” 1994 Northridge team that lost to Venezuela in the Little League World Series championship game in Williamsport, Pa.

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San Diego State baseball Coach Jim Dietz said Friday that disciplinary action has been taken against Fisher’s two recruiting hosts. One player was dismissed from the squad because he violated team rules, and another player was temporarily suspended, pending the completion of an athletic department internal investigation.

A school spokesman said taking recruits to fraternity parties where alcohol is served “was not on the agenda of things to do.”

Jack Fisher said his son has been shaken by the ordeal but strengthened by encouraging calls from several local college coaches.

“Some of the local college coaches gave him support, because they know my son’s character,” he said.